Method of vaporizing hydrocarbon oils.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT HAYES, NOR-OTON, CONNECTICUT, AS SIGNOR TO AMERICAN OIL ENGINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

METHOD OF VA PORI ZI N G HYDROCARBON OILS- Patented Oct. 9,1900.

, Application filed September 24, 1904. Renewed March 6,1906. SerialNo. 804,541.

To all whom at may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT Harms, a citi zen of theUnited States, ,residing at Nowton, in the county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Vaporizing Hydrocarbon Oils, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanymg drawing and to the figures of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to methods of vaporizing hydrocarbon oils, particularly the heavier or less volatile oils, to form a combustible gaseous mixture adapted for use for heating or other purposes. v

In ordinary practice the vaporization, of the lighter or more volatile hydrocarbon oils, such as gasolene ornaphth-a, presents com paratively little difficulty, though when even these hydrocarbons are vaporized within 'a heated tube or retort and discharged through a small orifice, such as is necessary to use, the

orifice is liable to be clogged by deposits of a hard substance, probably carbon. In vapo'' rizing the heavier hydrocarbons in a heated tube or retort ahigher heat must be employed than in vaporizing the lighter hydrocarbons, and by reason of the higher heat. more or less cracking of the oil takes place, and it is practically impossible to prevent the discharge-orifice from rapidly becoming choked with deposits. This clogging of the discharge-orifice seems'to be ractically unavoidable where a heated tube or retort is used to vaporize the oil, the liability ofclogging being greater with the heavier hydrocarbons. 1

In order to vaporize the heavier hydrocarbon oils without the use of a-vaporizing tube or retort, as where oil is sprayed directly into a flame, it is desirable tosubdivide the oil as finely as possible and even when so subdivided by steam or air jets it is difficult, if

not impossible, to secure complete vaporization or complete combustion, more or less unconsumed carbon being always deposited.

It is the object of my present invention .to

do away with the necessity of using a retortvaporizer for vaporizing the heavier hydrobustible gaseous mixture which may be burned without depositing carbon, thus utilizing fully-the heat units of the oil.

In order to. secure this fine subdivision of the oil, I cause oil and water to be brought together in the form of spray, the water probably taking the form of minute drops or globules and the oil probably forming a thin film or coating on the exterior surface of each drop or globule, it being well known that it tends to spread-on the surface of the water when oil is brought into contact with water as a thin film, the oil being thus, as I believe, divided more finely than it could be divided by mechanical means. The action of heat on the oil-coated drops or globules of water by converting the water into steam causes 1 the bursting of the coat of oil, thereby efiectmg so complete a subdivision of the oil that a gaseous mixture of the oil, water, and air may be formed having the stability of a true '75 gas and capable of burning .without residue without subjecting the oil to such a temperature as would cause the least cracking.

My method may becarried out with vari ous formsof apparatus, it being necessary only to. introduce the oil and water, preferably together with atmospheric air, into a chamber where the several elements may together be subjected to heat and compres- S1011. For the purpose of illustration I have shown in the accompanying drawing a-form of apparatus which I have found suitablefor use in practicing my method; but it is to be understood that so far as the method is con cerned the drawing is to be considered as illustrative merely and not as in any respect restricting the invention to the form of a paratus shown or to any particular form 0 ap i paratus'.

In the drawing the figure is a vertical sectional view of. my preferred form of apparatus. I

In the drawing, 1' is a chamber (here shown as the cylinder of an explosion-engine) in which a mixture of finely-divided oil, water, and air may be subjected to heat and compression.

'2 is the cylinder-head having formed therein near its center a small recess or chamber 3,

having an outlet 4, leading to the interior of the cylinder.

5 and 6 are dischar e-nozzles leadinginto the small chamber 3, t ese discharge-nozzles with the engine-crank.

also constricted, as shown at 16, at the point .tity to supp y the oxygen necessary for the du'ction of the drops or being; arranged at diametrically opposite points, so that the streams discharged through them will impinge and will thus be thorou hly mixed and finely divided.

To t e discharge-nozzle 5 leads a passage 7 with the outer end of which is connected a pipe 8, communicating with a source of airsupplyand through a branch 9, communicat ing with an oilsu ply. The end of the branch 9 is. preferab y constricted, as shown at 10, so as to'feed the oil slowly, and the pipe 8 is also constricted. at the point at which the oil enters, as shown at 11, so that the air. and .the oil will tend toform a more or less complete mixture before they are together discharged from the nozzle 5.

v To the discharge-nozzle 6 leads a passage 12, with the outer end of which is connected a pipe 13, communicating with a source of airsupply and through a branch 14 communicating with a water-supply. As above de scribed with reference to the airand oilinlets the end of the branch 13 .is preferably constricted, as shown at 15, so as to admit the water in a fine stream, and the pipe 13 is,

at which the water enters, so that the air and waterwill tend to mix:before they are together discharged from the nozzle 6.

17 is the piston, adapted to reciprocate in the cylinder 1 and connected bypitman 18 The oil and water. supply are so regulated that the quantity of water admitted is greater than the uantity of oil, the air admitted bein preferably sufficient in quancomplete combustion of the mixture when burned.

In making use of the apparatus as above described for the purpose of carrying out my method the head 2 of the cylinder is first heated by any convenient means, as by the use of a torch, and oil, water and air are admitted into the chamber 3 through their sev- 'eral inlets, each preferably under pressure of from one hundred to two hundred pounds, the mixed oil and air being discharged through nozzle 5 and the mixed water-and air through the, nozzle 6. The streams from the two nozzles impinge upon each other, and the oil and the water arethus brought into contact and thoroughly mixed, the water probably being divided into minute drops or globules and the oil robably spreading in thin films on the surface of these drops or globules, the air probably aiding in the prolobules of water and in the distribution of 01% over theisurface of these drops or' globules. The mixture thus formed passes from the small chamber 3 through the opening 4 into the interior of the cylinder, where it is subjected to compression by theupstroke of thepiston 17, the compression necessarily increasing the heat,

the heat of compressing, together with the heat of the chamber 3 and of the walls of the cylinder, being sufiicient to cause the drops or globules of water, coated ,-as above described, with a thin film, of oil to be. converted into steam witha result'of still further dividing the oil and resulting'in forming, with the air, a combustible gaseous mixturewhich does not stratify and is practically'a permanent gas andv may be used in the cylinder as the explosive mixture for driving the engine or may be drawn off through the outlet 19.

The compressionis preferably carried to a degree sufficient to generate heat sufiicient to maintain the walls of the chamber and the walls of the cylinder at a temperature sufficient for the continued operation of the method. Of course if the mixture is burned within the cylinder to drive the piston by its ex losion the heat of the explosion will serve to heat the walls of the cylinder and chamber sufficiently. 7

It is of course essential thatthe oil and water enter the cylinder before the piston ,reaches the limit of its compression-stroke,

and the apparatus is preferably arranged if the gaseous mixture is'to be burned in the cylinder to introduce the oil and water during the upward stroke of the piston before it reaches the upward limit of its stroke, though if the gaseous mixture is to be drawn off for I use elsewhere the oil and water maybe introduced duringthe downward movement of the piston also. In either case the introduction of the oil and water and the formation of the filmof oil on the surface of the drops or 1 globules of water takes place while the pressure is less than the maximum, the increase of the pressure to the maximum serving to break up the film into vapor. The mixture formed in the chamber 3 is thus subjected to varying'pressure and varying temperature, the lower pressure and temperature, which occurs while the piston is near the lower limit of its stroke, permitting the mixing of the oil and water by which the oil is distributed in the form of a film on the drops or globules of water and the higher pressure and conseuent higher temperature, which occurs as t e piston reaches'the limitjof its upward stroke, causes "the complete vaporization and union of the oil, water, and air.

While the apparatus above described is particularly adapted to efiectively carryout my method, it is not essential, it being essential only that the oil and water he introduced into a heatedv receptacle with a sufficient quantity of air and subjected to compression.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The herein-described method of vaporizing hydrocarbon oils, which consists in introducing into a chamber a stream orspray of water and a stream or spray of oil, causing the two streams to mix, forcing air into the troducing into a chamber a stream or spray chamber, and subjecting the oil, water and air to heat and to compression greater than that due to expansion within the chamber.

2. The herein-described method of vaporizing hydrocarbon oil, which consists in introducing into a chamber a stream or spray of mingled water and air, and a stream or spray of ming1ed oi1-and air, causing the two streams to mm and subjecting the mixture so formed to heat and to compression greater jghan that due to expansion within the cham 3. The herein-described method of vaporizing hydrocarbon oil, which consists in inof mingled water and air, and a stream or spray of mingled oil and air, causing the two streams to impinge upon each other, whereby the Water and oil are finelysubdivided and mixed and subjecting the mixture so formed to heat and to compression greater tghan that due to expansion within the cham-- er. a In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' ALBERT HAYES. Witnesses:

ALBERT POPKINS, A. P. GREELEY. 

